The invention relates to toilet bowl cleaners, and more particularly to a dispenser for solid toilet bowl cleaner, wherein provision is made for adjustment of the amount of cleaner dispensed into the toilet tank water.
Toilet bowl cleaners have been in wide use, generally dispensing either a liquid into the water of the toilet tank or dissolving a solid cleaning agent into the water as the tank water surges during flushing. Usually a color is included in the toilet bowl cleaning agent, to indicate the presence of the cleaning agent.
Liquid toilet bowl cleaners have sometimes included a valve to dispense a measured amount of the cleaner liquid as the toilet is flushed and the water level in the tank falls. Solid cleaners have usually relied simply on the communication of the solid cake of cleaner with moving water in the tank, particularly during flushing, to effect the dissolving of the cleaner into the water.
There have been some solid toilet bowl cleaner dispensers which have included a rotatable member or collar on a cap, for adjusting and regulating the amount of toilet bowl cleaner that is dissolved into the tank water. Such an adjustable dispensing closure has generally included a series of holes in the annular collar, which can be placed in registry with, out of registry or partially in registry with similarly positioned holes in a stationary cap member, leading to the interior of the container. One such adjustable dispenser closure is shown in U.S. Pat. Des. No. 231,985. It has also been known on such a rotatable collar type adjustable dispenser closure to provide an annular band which closely fits over the annular surface of a stationary cap member, with an annular protruding ridge provided on the stationary cap member at the location of the top of the rotatable annular band. In such a closure a series of holes in the band were closely fitted against holes in the stationary cap member.
However, no toilet bowl cleaner dispenser system previous to the present invention was as efficient in construction and reliable in snap-together assembly, while permitting relatively broad manufacturing tolerances, as explained below with reference to the present invention.